The Texans aren’t having much luck trying to find a new general manager.

Houston was rejected by both the Patriots and Eagles for an interviews with their football executives, ESPN.com reported.

After taking a hard fourth-quarter sack, Newton dropped to his knees on the field before being evaluated in the medical tent on the sideline. He missed one offensive play and was cleared to return.

Following the game, Newton maintained he didn’t suffer a head injury but was instead poked in the eye.

The Panthers could be fined up to $150,000 if the investigation finds they didn’t properly follow the league’s updated concussion protocol.

When Jon Gruden returns to the NFL with the Raiders, who takes his chair at ESPN’s Monday Night Football?

That’s the big question.

Three plays later, Keenum felt the pressure of a collapsing pocket and unloaded an incomplete pass a split second before he could be sacked. It was a close play, but the MVP candidate clearly released the ball in the last possible moment before his knees hit the turf.

Only Payton didn’t see it that way. He tossed his challenge flag once again, and a quick conference with league officials in New York would cost him a second timeout and his ability to challenge anymore calls for the remainder of the game.

What this means for the Saints: New Orleans trails 20-14 in a hostile environment with time winding down in the fourth quarter. And now the Saints burned two timeouts with zero benefit to the team. This could very well come back to bite the Saints and sink their NFC Championship hopes.

Romo can make even bad plays exciting as a result. Case in point: Here’s a play that no one will remember after tonight, an incomplete pass just before the Patriots scored their third touchdown against the Titans on Saturday.

New England, naturally, is a big favorite to beat upstart Jacksonville in the AFC championship game Jan. 21 in Foxborough, Mass. The early lines in Las Vegas on Sunday had the Pats favored by nine over the Jaguars, who upset the Steelers on Sunday in the divisional round. The over-under (total points) was set at 48.

The Pats are 10-1 against the spread in their last 11 games, according to Vegasinsider.com; the UNDER is 7-4 in those games.

The NFC championship matchup, Vikings at Eagles on Jan. 21, is much closer in Vegas’ eyes, and once again, the conference’s top seed is an underdog. Philadelphia is getting 3 1/2 points from Minnesota after beating Atlanta outright as a 2 1/2-point ‘dog Saturday. The Vikings advanced to next weekend’s title game with a miracle 29-24 win over the Saints on Sunday. Minnesota was favored by between 3.5 and 5.5 points leading up to the game.